


Ebb And Flow

by IowaGuy1979



Series: And It Is, It Is, A Glorious Thing... [3]
Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Chloe Price Stayed at Blackwell, Depression, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:53:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28064247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IowaGuy1979/pseuds/IowaGuy1979
Summary: It was OK. Max didn't deserve either of them, she thoughtBut, tides go out, and tides come in, again.Trigger Warning: Abuse
Relationships: Maxine "Max" Caulfield/Chloe Price, Rachel Amber/Chloe Price
Series: And It Is, It Is, A Glorious Thing... [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2052699
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	Ebb And Flow

Max, Chloe and Rachel were in Chloe’s room. They were playing her Playstation 2. Rachel had given it to her, when her parents had gotten her a Playstation 3.

“Must be nice, having rich parents”, Chloe mock growled.

“Trust me, Priceless, I’d take the connection you have with William and Joyce over parents who try to buy my love with goddamn gifts, any fucking day.”, she responded, a sad look on her face.

It’s ok, Rachel. You’ll always have us!”, Max smiled, bumping shoulders with her.

“Damn fucking straight, you will”, Chloe said.

The front door opened and closed.

“Mom and Dad must be home”, Chloe said. 

“C..Chloe, would you come downstairs, please?”, Joyce sounded as if the entire world had been destroyed.

The three stomped down the stairs. “What’s up, Mom?”

“Chloe….William’s dead.”

“What? Mom, don’t joke li-”

“He’s dead, Chloe.”

Chloe’s face was blank for a few seconds, until she let out a sob, and collapsed to the floor. Max and Rachel sat around her, hugging her.

“So, you’re abandoning her… abandoning US.”, Rachel glared at Max. They were standing in front of the Price house which sported a half finished blue paint job, that would never be completed.

“I’m sorry, Rachel. It’s not like I can tell my dad to stay here.”

A fire sparked in Rachel’s eyes. “Did you EVEN FUCKING TRY, Max?”

Her responding silence was all the answer Rachel needed.

The three girls stood at the entrance to the Arcadia Bay Cemetery. Chloe looked at Max, as if Max had betrayed her. She had, of course.

“It’s the day of my dad’s FUCKING funeral, Max. And you’re going off to live in Seattle…?”

All Max could do was nod.

“Go, then. Get the hell out of here. AND NEVER COME BACK!”. Her face red, tears in her eyes, she turned away from Max.

“Go, Max, just go. Please.”, Rachel whispered, a combination of anger and sadness on her face.

Max swallowed a lump in her throat, and walked away. She knew that her life had basically just ended.  
Whatever happened after this, it would be a pale counterfeit of what her life had been before.

Chloe blew out some smoke rings. Things had only gotten worse after her dad and Max had abandoned her. 

Joyce had started dating a war veteran, who thought Chloe was a soldier to order around. She let out a snort, scowling. Sergeant Pepper had told her, the other day, that being without a father figure had been a vacation. Like her dad dying had been a good thing.

“Fuck off, dickhead!” she had shouted. She found herself on the floor, rage on David’s face. “That’s what you get for talking back to me, Chloe. This is MY house now, and you WILL to listen to me!"

She got up off of the floor, and ran out of the house. 

“That’s right, RUN! Just like all the other cowards I've known!”, the man’s voice yelled behind her.

That’s how she had found herself here, at American Rust, her home away from Hell.

As she was bringing the cigarette back to her lips, a hand stole it away.

Rachel brought it to her lips, then exhaled.

“Smoking cigarettes, wasting your time”, she sang, a smirk on her lips.

Chloe sighed. “That fucking prick..”

Rachel said nothing, and pressed her lips against Chloe’s.

Chloe smirked.

“Well, I’m a waste like you, with nothing else to do”, she sang.

“Can I waste your time, too?”, they sang together, lips connecting again.

Max stood in front of the fish counter at Central Market Shoreline. Her mom had sent her to get some salmon for that night’s dinner.

A middle aged man, with thick glasses and salt and pepper hair stood next to her.

“I can’t believe these prices”, he said. “Fish was way more expensive back in Iowa. But then, not surprising, this being the coast.”

Max nodded, only half listening. She told the fish counter guy what she wanted, and was soon on her way.

She tapped her ORCA card, and found her way to a seat in the back of the bus.

Sighing, she realized that her feelings on the day she had abandoned her best friends had been true. Her life was now more like an existence, than a life. She kept her head down in school. Not that it made things any easier. The rich bitches mocked her. Once, a football player had pushed her down, right in front of the Principal. The man had the very slightest of smirks on his face, as he passed by.

She hadn’t talked or texted either Rachel or Chloe since that day. After a week of them texting her, she had asked Dad if she could change her number. “I..I just want to forget the Arcadia Bay part of my life and move on”, she had said. He nodded in return, a look of relief on his face. She knew that they’d forget about her and move on, as they should. Apparently, her parents felt the same way.

One night, she was listening to her Spotify. Hipster that she was, it was mostly 70’s, 80’s and 90’s songs. A song came on, the synthesizer marking it as the second of the three.

It kind of sounded like stars twinkling and soaring in the sky. It reminded her of the stars in Rachel’s bedroom. 

Once upon a time

Once when you were mine

Chloe and Rachel came to mind, right away. N...not that they were hers in that way!

I remember skies

Reflected in your eyes

Eyes that were so much bluer than Max’s own. She thought of Chloe’s eyes, when she smiled or laughed. Her eyes, the day Max left. Max sniffled.

I wonder where you are

I wonder if you think of me

Once upon a time

In your wildest dreams

Max shook her head, closing the app. She knew where they were, and she also knew they never thought of her. 

The years went on. Her parents, busy with the jobs they had moved to Seattle for, didn’t really pay attention to her. The recession had hit them hard. But, it was what Max deserved. She didn’t deserve to have anyone care about her. As every day at school proved, she was nothing.

She dressed, and then had a simple breakfast of toast, cereal and black coffee.

As she grabbed the mail, she thought back on the application she had done for Blackwell.

Her parents had pushed her on what she was going to do with her life. She knew she had no chance, but, put in the application anyway. Just to get them off her ass.

She saw a letter with a Arcadia Bay address on it. Blackwell Academy.

For the briefest of seconds, as she tore open the letter, she let herself hope.

Miss Maxine Caulfield

Blackwell Academy has a long and storied history of excellence. There are very few scholarships available.  
Which is why, unfortunately, we are not able to accept your application.  
Also, to be blunt, our Photography teacher was unimpressed with your work. 

Best of luck with your future.

Raymond Wells

Principal

Max sighed. Just the first of what would likely be many rejections in her future. That bastard didn’t need to twist the knife like he did, though.

The months went on. Max graduated, finally getting an acceptance to the Massachusetts College Of Art And Design a few months previously. Boston was going to be big change from the West Coast, but Max was ready for a change.

She stepped out of the Tree House Residence Hall. The weather on the East Coast was a hell of a lot colder than it had been in Seattle.

It had been one hell of a ride, these last few years, Chloe thought. After that bitch that had called herself their best friend abandoned them, she and Rachel had concentrated on their relationship. Chloe had been close to dropping out, or being expelled several times, but, having Rachel there to support her meant everything.

Not that the support was just one way. When Rachel had been mocked and threatened by that bitch Victoria Chase, Chloe was right there to punch her in the nose. Luckily for them both, that had happened only once, with Rachel smoothing things out between Chloe and that alkie Wells. She had also told Rachel about the bad vibes she got from that new creepy Photography teacher, and had cautioned Rachel to not get involved with him.

Rachel had, predictably, gotten angry with her. She finally agreed to ignore his advances. Chloe had been proven right, when, after Victoria’s disappearance, the police had found a underground bunker. It had contained photography equipment, as well as binders, and a laptop. Both were filled with pictures of teenage girls, the latest binder being labeled Victoria. The newest one, still empty, read Rachel. Several days later, the cops had found Victoria’s body in a shallow grave about a mile away from the barn the bunker had been under. Rachel had been horrified, but, was beyond grateful to her girlfriend for saving her.

Chloe had finally graduated, despite David’s constant abuse and belittlement. After years of that, and years of Joyce refusing to believe it, Chloe left Arcadia Bay for M.I.T. She had never told Joyce about her scholarship. Why bother, she only cared about Step Dick. Her last words to Joyce had been, “Joyce, I can’t stay in Arcadia Bay.”

With David yelling, “Good riddance, you damn punk!”, Chloe got into her rust bucket truck, and left Arcadia Bay for the last time.

Her trusted mechanical companion had finally breathed its last in a small city in Ohio. A local scrapyard had given enough for it for Chloe to buy a Greyhound ticket to Boston.

She had won a scholarship to the college because of her high marks in her science classes at Blackwell. She had been putting electrical devices together all of her life, including the truck that had served her so well. So the School Of Engineering was the logical choice.

Rachel would follow her. Her grades, as well as her families money Chloe thought with a snort, had gotten her a space in M.I.T’s School Of The Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences. The drama at Blackwell had dimmed her passion for the stage, so she was majoring in Political Science.

She had just stepped off of a crowded bus, when she collided with someone. The shorter person hit the ground with a “OW!” followed by a muttered “are you cereal?” Chloe froze. Only one person had ever said that.

Max felt like she had run into a brick wall. As her vision cleared, she looked up. A long, lanky body towered above her. She finally focused on the person’s face. It was older, but, it was the same face she had last seen on the day of William’s funeral. “C….Chloe? Chloe Price?”

Chloe looked down at the person who had left her life so long ago. “Well, well, well, funny running into you here, Caulfield.”, she glared. “How's it been? Oh wait, I couldn’t give even less of a fuck.” With that she turned around, and walked down the street.

Max’s insides froze as cold as the weather around her. She got up to her feet. “Chloe, wait!”, she shouted, running after her. “I… I know I abandoned you. I didn’t contact you, because, I knew you had Rachel. You had her, so you didn’t need me.”

Chloe spun around, her eyes burning with anger. “Bullshit, Max! You were off living the goddamn high life in Seattle!”

“Chloe, I tried to forget you both, because you had each other. But, I couldn’t. I couldn’t forget my pirate crew.”, she said, eyes tearing.

Chloe rolled her eyes. “Ok, stop with the waterworks.” She lightly grabbed Max’s arm. “There’s a coffee shop around the corner.” She began leading Max away.

“How do I know you’re not going to lead me into an alley and kill me? Not that I don’t deserve it”

You’ll just have to trust me, Caulfield.” She led Max through a door into what was the archetypal college town coffee shop. Soft leather chairs and couches, a blackboard with the menu and prices up above the counter. She laid Max onto a couch. “I’ll order for both of us. Be right back.”

Max very seriously considered running away. Chloe had Rachel, she didn’t need a cowardly ex best friend weighing her down. But, being as indecisive as ever, by the time she resolved to leave, Chloe was back. She looked Max dead in the eye. “Talk.”

I’m so sorry! I didn’t contact you, because you had Rachel. You didn’t need me, still don’t need me. I’m sure you’re here at M.I.T., you always were so smart. You don’t need a traitor like me in your life. Rachel’s enough for you.”

“Bullshit, Max! You were my friend, before Rachel. I...I need you. I’ve always needed you”, she said, eyes glistening.

“You’re just saying that to make me feel better, Chloe. I don’t want to be a third wheel, a weight dragging you both down.”

“I...We both need you, Max. I’m sure if Rachel was here she’d say the same thing. After screaming at you for 5 minutes, that is. Remember that time you won four games of Smash in a row? She didn’t talk to you for two days.”

Max let out a sad laugh. “Yeah. But, she got over it.”

“She always got over it. She loved you, Max.”

“And I loved her, too. Both of you. Pirate crew for life”, she smiled sadly.

“No, Max. I mean she LOVED you.”

The air left her lungs. “You mean..?”

“Yes, and.. and so did I. Ever since that summer in my backyard.”

The speakers in the coffee shop’s ceiling sang out.

We’ll do it all

Everything

On our own

Max laughed wetly, tears in her eyes. “They’re playing our song.”

We don’t need

Anything

Or anyone

The two shared a smile.

If I lay here

If I just lay here

Would you lie with me

And just forget the world?

I don’t quite know

How to say

How I feel

Max inhaled a shaky breath.

Those three words

Are said too much

They’re not enough

They both thought about all the shit they had went through, apart and together. In the end, though, “I love you”, was not strong enough to show their feelings for each other.

All that I am

All that I ever was

Are here in your perfect eyes

They’re all I can see.

What seemed like an electric current snapped their eyes together. Their lips followed. It felt like it had been a thousand years, since that summer so long ago. All the anger and sadness melted away in that kiss.

I don’t know where

Confused about how as well

Just know that these things will never change for us at all

As they pulled away, Chloe said, “’I love you’ does seem like it’s not enough.”

Max giggled. “Okay, then. How about ‘forever’?”

Chloe smiled, and nodded. “Forever”

**Author's Note:**

> I was stuck at the Blackwell letter part, as to whether Max should go, or not. I thought it made more of an impact with Max being rejected. 
> 
> The bit about the teacher thinking Max's work wasn't good enough was inspired by a fic where Jefferson tells Max the only reason she got in, is because he wanted her for his Dark Room
> 
> The lyrics Chloe and Rachel sing are from Green Day's Sassafras Roots
> 
> The song Max hears is Your Wildest Dreams by The Moody Blues
> 
> The last is Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol
> 
> And the fish counter customer is a ham handed self insert.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
